Several people have asked about the prayer from Ted Loder that I used in worship on March 2. It is titled, "I Need to Breathe Deeply, Lord" from his book, Guerrillas of Grace and I copied it below. We have used a Loder prayer from time to time in worship, and with good reason. He is a constant source of inspiration.
The second request was from last Sunday (March 9) and the reading I used in the sermon. It was from a piece called "When Christians Love Theology More Than People." It was originally written by Stephen Mattson and relayed through a post by Jerry Kieschnick. If you are familiar with the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, you'll appreciate this even more.
I love finding nuggets of wisdom and insight, and I love passing them on. Enjoy!
I Need to Breathe Deeply by Ted Loder
Eternal Friend,
grant me an ease
to breathe deeply of this moment,
this light,
this miracle of now.
Beneath the din and fury
of great movements
and harsh news
and urgent crises
make me attentive still
to good news
to small occasions
and the grace of what is possible
for me to be
to do,
to give,
to receive,
that I may miss neither my neighbor’s gift
nor my enemies need.
Precious Lord,
grant me,
a sense of humor
that adds perspective to compassion,
gratitude
that adds persistence to courage,
quietness of spirit,
that adds irrepressibility to hope,
openness of mind
that adds surprise to joy;
that with the gladness of heart
I may link arm and aim
with the One who saw signs of your kingdom
in salt and yeast,
pearls and seeds,
travelers and tax collectors,
sowers and harlots,
foreigners and fishermen,
and who opens my eyes with these signs
and my ears with the summons
to follow something more
of justice and joy.
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